Every Penny Counts

This past Monday, the Islamic Center of Pflugerville in Austin, Texas was vandalized. Feces were found smeared on the sidewalk outside of the center, along with torn out pages of the Quran. "It's disgusting [...] It doesn't matter what you believe, what I believe, what he believes or anybody believes, all faith is important" said Laura Swanson, a Pflugerville resident. When Swanson's seven year old son found out what had happened, he tried to help by emptying out his piggy bank, which only contained about twenty dollars. He went to the mosque and gave the money to Faisal Naeem, a board member of the center. "It's 20 bucks, but coming from Jack collecting his pennies, it's worth 20 million bucks to me and to our community," Naeem said. Jack's actions give Naeem hope, he said, because "this means it's not once versus the other." The vandalism is still being investigated. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/19/us/boy-piggy-bank-mosque-vandalized/ 

Clarkston, Georgia - Refugee City

Clarkston, Georgia has become a very diverse community after it was mentioned as a good place for refugees to settle. Out of the 8,000 people, half of the population is made up of refugees. Those who were born in Clarkston say they love the diversity that the refugees bring, and some have gone so far as to start businesses to help refugees and keep them there. For example, a food truck called "Refuge Coffee" was started by Kitti Murray (a Clarkston native) and is the occupation of three refugees from Syria, Congo, and Ethiopia. The Community Center also helps in welcoming refugees by helping them transition into normal American life. Clarkston's Mayer, Ted Terry, says his mission is to "keep the city diverse" and "show the true principles of America."

http://www.cnn.com/videos

Hillary Clinton Proposes Middle Class Tax Cut

Hillary Clinton proposed a tax credit for those who face unexpected and overwhelming health care costs in order to give middle class Americans tax relief. The proposal provides up to $2,500 in tax credit for individuals, and $5,000 for families. When Clinton spoke at LeMoyne-Owen College, she acknowledged that the primarily black student body "deserved a raise -- not a tax increase." Clinton believes that the American Opportunity Tax Credits should be extended in order to help make college more affordable. On Sunday, Clinton will present more proposals for tax cuts, "in order to ensure the wealthiest of Americans pay their fair share."

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/22/donald-trump-again-insists-he-saw-celebrations-in-new-jersey-on-sept-11/

Donald Trump Supports Those Who ‘Roughed Up’ Protester at His Event

Mercutio Southall, a co-founder of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Birmingham, AL, was physically assaulted at a Donald Trump campaign rally. After Southall and his protesters began recording their being at the event on a cellphone, Mr. Southall found himself on the floor surrounded by Trump supporters kicking and punching him. Donald Trump, whose podium was too far away to see the commotion, later said he was in favor of the actions of his supporters. “Maybe he (Southall) should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/11/20/

Obama on ISIS

After days of criticism, Obama has finally come up with a strong a firm response to the terrorist attacks in Paris. At a press conference in Malaysia this weekend, Obama vowed that the global group formed with the goal to destroy ISIS will not give in or quit. "We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants and theaters and hotels are the new normal, or that we are powerless to stop them," Obama said. He made a great point that "they can't beat us on the battlefield," so instead they try to frighten us into panicking. Many frightened citizens all around the world have been blaming anyone following the Muslim religion for the terrorist attacks, in which Obama addressed that we are not at war with the Muslim religion. He explained "The United States could never be at any war with any religion because America is made up by multiple religions" and that "prejudice and discrimination helps ISIS and undermines our national security." Regarding policy, the Obama administration had originally wanted to accept 10,000+ Syrian refugees into the country, but as of Thursday, the House has passed a bill that will suspend that program. 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/22/politics/obama-isis-killers-social-media/index.html

Political Parties in Nigeria

http://nigeriamasterweb.com/PoliticalFullist.html - parties fluctuate in transforming republics

1. Alliance for Democracy
2. All Nigeria Peoples’ Party
3. All Progressives Grand Alliance
4. All Peoples Liberation Party
5. African Renaissance Party
6. Better Nigeria Progressive Party
7. Community Party of Nigeria
8. The Democratic Alternative
9. The Green Party of Nigeria
10. Justice Party
11. Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria
12. Movement for Democracy and Justice
13. Masses Movement of Nigeria
14. National Action Council
15. Nigeria Advance Party 
16. National Conscience Party
17. New Democrats
18. National Democratic Party
19. National Mass Movement of Nigeria
20. New Nigeria Peoples Party
21. Nigerian Peoples Party
22. National Reformation Party
23. Progressive Action Congress
24. Peoples Democratic Party
25. Peoples Mandate Party
26. Peoples Redemption Party
27. Party for Social Democracy
28. Peoples Salvation Party
29. United Democratic Party
30. Uniter Nigeria Peoples Party

type of gov- federal republic (a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted and in which the component parts (states, colonies, or provinces) retain a degree of self-government; ultimate sovereign power rests with the voters who chose their governmental representatives) http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/government_type.html 

how power is organized- same as US

head of state- president

legislative branch- house of rep & senate

unitary or federal system- federal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Nigeria

which parties are considered major or ruling- Peoples Democratic Party 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_(Nigeria)

how are parties characterized- chaotic, lots of upheaval

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Nigeria#First_Republic_.281960-1966.29 

what issues are the parties organized around (ideological, economic, social issues)- integration or regionalization http://works.bepress.com/david_moveh/13/

UFO Sighting or Planned Missile Test?

Saturday night in Southern California was filled with lots of panicked star gazing, as people began to notice a bright white light shooting across the sky. Was it a star or meteor? Was it a UFO sighting? Both scenarios, wrong. U.S. military officials explained it was only a planned missile test flight from a submarine ("USS Kentucky") off the coast of Southern California. The Navy Strategic Systems Program also informed the public that the missile was unarmed and not dangerous, and tests will continue until November 12th. "Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/us/southern-california-navy-test-mystery-light/index.html